User talk:Michellecotter

Welcome!

Hello, Michellecotter and Welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions to this free encyclopedia. If you decide that you need help, check out Getting Help below, ask me on my talk page, or place {{helpme}} on your talk page and ask your question there. Please remember to sign your name on talk pages by using four tildes (~~~~) or by clicking if shown; this will automatically produce your username and the date. Also, please do your best to always fill in the edit summary field with your edits. Below are some useful links to facilitate your involvement. Happy editing! Tim PF (talk) 14:12, 14 June 2011 (UTC) Getting started A tutorial • Our five pillars • Getting mentored How to: Edit a page • Upload and use images • Create your first article Intuitive guide to Wikipedia • Article Creation Wizard Getting help Frequently asked questions • Tips Where to ask questions or make comments Request administrator attention Help desk: A Wiki Styled page to ask questions on Help directory: A comprehensive list-style help contents page Policies and guidelines Neutral point of view • No original research Verifiability • Reliable sources • Citing sources What Wikipedia is not • Biographies of living persons List of policies • Three-revert rule • Sock puppetry Copyrights • Policy for non-free content • Image use policy External links • Spam • Vandalism • List of guidelines Deletion policy • Conflict of interest • Notability The community Build consensus • Resolve disputes Assume good faith • Civility • Etiquette No personal attacks • No legal threats Community portal • Village pump Signpost • IRC channels • Mailing lists Writing articles Be bold in editing • Develop an article The perfect article • Simplified manual of style Stubs • Categories • Disambiguation Peer review • Featured content Miscellaneous User pages • Talk pages Awards a registered contributor can achieve and award Clean up: General • Spam • Vandalism Join a WikiProject • Translation Useful templates • Tools • User scripts

Scottish Gaelic place names

Hi, you appear to be changing the Gaelic spelling of several place names, referencing, "Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba - Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland".. The problem with these spellings is that they are different from those used on the Gaelic version of Wikipedia. With some of the edits, such as with Cupar, you changed the name in the interwiki link from gd:Cùbar Fìobha to gd:Cupar Fìobha, which generates an error page (something like "This article does not exist, would you like to create it"). You also changed the interwiki link for the Welsh article in one edit.

I am not a speaker of Gaelic, so I do not wish to judge which is correct, but these articles should stay interlinked to the existing Gaelic (or Welsh) articles, even if an official government website uses a different spelling. If you wish to reply, please do so here. Tim PF (talk) 15:40, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

Hi Michelle. What you're doing is fine but yeah, Tim is right, you need to watch the links. If there's a Gaelic page under the now deprecated name, you should go to the Gaelic wiki and move the page (the Gluais button) and mention in the move summary that it's to bring it in line with AAA. Thanks for your help! Akerbeltz (talk) 17:43, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

Hi Tim & Michael and thanks for this info, I wasn't aware that was happening so accept my humble apologies, I'm very much a beginner with this and your tips are most helpful. For info I've not made any further edits. Michellecotter (talk) 16:00, 16 June 2011 (UTC)

There is a conflict of interest here, Dr Michelle Cotter is the Project Manager of "Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba". My main problem with that organisation is the tendency to use (quasi-)English forms by default, even when the name in question is partly/wholly Gaelic in origin, or has a name which is well attested, e.g. Abhainn Tuaidh for the River Tweed, instead of Abhainn Tweed (yeugh!)--MacRusgail (talk) 17:58, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

I think they only do that if there's serious questions around the "Gaelic form". I remember having that debate about the place name "Tobar na Màthar" vs Motherwell and "Cala na Creige" vs urrr whatever the English is. Stonehaven I think. Apparently Tobar na Màthar is non-historic in the sense there's no parchment that supports that name.

Now personally I believe that given all place names were new at some point, there is no reason we can't have a new Gaelic name but as a body that makes a case for the scientific approach to place names, I can see why they (at least for now) avoid that. Akerbeltz (talk) 18:12, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

What's your view on the conflict of interest here? (WP:COI)--MacRusgail (talk) 12:56, 15 June 2011 (UTC)

If anyone wishes to contact her (she isn't responding here), her address off the website is mcotter@gaelicplacenames.org -MacRusgail (talk) 16:36, 15 June 2011 (UTC)

I don't see a big problem with COI here. It's a body supplying official bodies with placenames, it's not like thez're selling anything. Akerbeltz (talk) 18:12, 16 June 2011 (UTC)